Typhoon
by daughter.of.athena189
Summary: When Sadie Faye applied for the rare opportunity of actually going to space, she had no idea that she'd be returning with superpowers. Can she handle the arrogant (but super hot) blonde who seems hell-bent on irritating her to death? Johnny/OC. T because of slight cursing.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **I actually love Johnny/OC fanfictions. The only problem? Well, there aren't very many. I decided to try my hand at writing one, enjoy!

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Sadie Faye really must have looked a sight. She sprinted down the busy streets of Manhattan in her four inch heels, her dark hair flying out behind her and her bagel half stuffed in her mouth ungracefully. Really, she blamed it all on her stupid alarm clock. Sadie could have _sworn _she set the timer to 7:30 AM, but no, of course this was the one day it broke and set the alarm to ring at 7:30 PM.

She'd woken up at roughly around eight-thirtyish, checked the alarm clock and then probably woke the whole apartment building with the colorful and pretty creative string of profanities coming from her mouth. She was jogging now, having shoved the last of the bagel into her mouth and soothed her ravenous stomach. She swore under her breath as her ankle rolled and she staggered.

She began shouldering her way through the crowd of people who were _conveniently _walking in the opposite direction to her. "'Scuse me, excuse _me..." _she muttered as she slammed into a lanky-looking blonde whose glasses dominated his whole face and the zit on his nose, particularly noticeable. He snorted and rolled his eyes before turning back to his friend.

Sadie flung her arm out and waved madly for at the yellow taxi screeching to a halt a few feet from her. She yanked the passenger door open and slid into the front seat and sighed. The car smelled of smoke and the dark haired girl scrunched up her nose, making the spray of freckles across it bunch up.

The car pulled out into the thick stream of traffic as the driver asked, "Where to, ma'am?"

She swiveled around in her seat to face the balding driver, "The Von Doom building please." She wasn't surprised when the driver nodded, apparently knowing where it was. It was kind of hard to miss the large, ostentatious metal statue of the man outside the building which towered over unsuspecting newcomers. She tucked her bag behind her calves absently, her fingers playing with the loose string on the handle as she waited.

Finally, after ten awkward minutes, the car pulled up in front of the building and she slapped a bill into his pudgy hand as she shoved the door open. "Dontcha want your change, ma'am?"

"Keep it!" Sadie yelled back as she dashed up the concrete steps to the front of the building. As she neared the ugly statue, she caught sight of an oddly matched pair of men. The bald one in a parka and casual pants and one with slicked back hair and a perfectly pressed suit. They were both staring up at the monument which reminded all visitors of their insignificance compared to the boss himself, Victor Von Doom.

"Typical of Victor Von Doom to build a thirty foot statue of himself." The bald guy muttered gruffly and scowled. He said _Victor _with a nasty twist as if the words burned his mouth.

"Well, it's obviously aimed at first time visitors to create feelings of smallness, inadequacy." She overheard the dark haired man note to his friend, his eyes regarding the statue with an air of controlled contempt and dislike.

His friend snorted as the two began moving through the crowd, "Good thing it ain't workin... Reed, what are we doing here? This guy's fast-food, strip-mall science – "

Sadie smirked, she liked the guy already. He was an excellent judge of character, she noticed.

"This wasn't our first stop, in case you forgot. And Victor's not that bad. He's just a little... Larger than life." Reed corrected his friend who snorted once again. She walked behind the two and heaved a sigh as she pushed through the throng of people and stepped into the foyer of the building.

The two men wandered out of her line of vision as she pulled her iPhone from her pocket, tapping on the device several times until her inbox showed up. She swiped down the screen and touched a point on the screen lightly. Her eyes scanned down the acceptance email from her boss. She was currently an astrophysicist-in-training, in the thick of her Master's Degree. The application to work alongside some of the best scientists in the modern world had come up and she'd jumped at the chance, piling together all her awards and recommendations from her professors into a packet to be received by the Von Doom Industries.

She'd been accepted as part of the team and hopefully it would give her the credits she needed for the year _and _provide her with experience for working at NASA. Sadie pulled her hair back into a pony tail and slicked on a coat of gloss, straightening her pencil skirt. She stepped into one of the many elevators and stood next to a businessman whose thumbs were tapping incessantly on his phone.

The elevator dinged and she jolted as she realized that it was her stop. She darted out of the lift confidently and her eyes flitted across the corridor as she looked for – well, she didn't know what she was expecting. Her eyes landed on a tall, pretty blonde who was walking towards her, a coolly professional smile on her face and her hands smoothing down her blazer lapels. "Ms Faye?" she inquired, a tanned hand reaching out to shake hers.

"Yes, and you must be Ms Storm?" Sadie responded, shaking the woman's hand. The blonde nodded with the smile still in place on her face which didn't quite reach her dark blue eyes. She could have been a model, Sadie noted jealously.

"I am, but please call me Sue. Now, Ms Faye, if you would just follow me this way," she gestured down the corridor and began a brisk walk, her heels clicking briskly against the marble. Sadie walked quickly after her, self consciously playing with the hem of her silky ruffled blouse. She followed Sue down the seemingly never-ending labyrinth of corridors and small paths leading off to secluded offices and printing rooms.

Finally the two stopped in front of a pair of shiny teak doors. Sue rapped on the wood once before quietly pushing the door open and stepping in. Sadie stepped in as well, surprised at the darkness of the room until she caught sight of the impressive hologram of the solar system on the desk. "My research suggests that exposure to a high-energy cosmic storm borne on solar winds might have triggered the evolution of early planetary life."

It was the dark haired man from before, she noticed as her eyes skipped over to his friend who was wearing a carefully guarded expression, obviously trying to remain nonchalant. Sadie was drawn in by the passion and conviction in the man's tone as he walked over to his briefcase, slid a small remote into his hand and tapped a button, still talking, "In six weeks, another cloud with the same elemental profile will pass Earth's orbit."

He strode back over to the man whose face was still shaded by darkness, presumably Victor Von Doom, "A study conducted in space could fundamentally advance our knowledge-", he pressed another button on the remote and Sadie watched, awestricken as the pictures changed to a magnified image of DNA, "-about the structure of the human genome, cure countless diseases, extend human life, give kids a chance to live longer, stronger, healthier-"

"Turn it off, please." The man behind the shadows spoke abruptly and Reed stopped.

"I don't think I've explained my proposal fully," Reed said nervously.

"No, I think you have," his voice took on a mocking tone which made Sadie shiver with disgust. It was the tone that the popular people had used on her at school when they called her gross, nerdy – take your pick.

Reed swallowed, looking intently into the man's face as he continued derisively, "Same old Reed, always stretching, reaching for the stars with the weight of the world on his back." Victor added a nasty twist to the last few words.

"But dreams don't pay the bills, do they?" Victor continued and Sadie could hear the rustling of papers from where she stood, frozen next to Sue. He slapped a _Wired _magazine on the table which read in bold letters, _Reed Richards Bankrupt. Announces Grant Cutbacks. _

There was an intense silence in the room until Reed cut in, "You remember, when we were in school, we talked about working together. Well, that's what I was about to explain," he walked back around to the remote and scooped the silver device into his palm.

He clicked a button and an enlarged picture of what looked like a - _space station? _She wasn't sure – appeared, "The storm is deadly. But the shields on your station's control room are designed to protect any occupants inside."

The sound of another button clicking drew her attention back to Von Doom. The light shone on his face revealing an icy expression etched into his features and a scornful look in his cold eyes. "So, it's not just my money you want," he murmured quietly, "it's my toys."

There was a silent beat and Von Doom's eyes challenged Reed to disagree, dared the scientist to prove him wrong. Reed nodded in a _well, yes, _kind of way as Victor continued almost gleefully, "Tell me, if NASA doesn't trust you, then why should I?"

Reed and his bald friend shared a look. Surprisingly, Victor chuckled once before standing up and walking over to the two men. "That's my job, to stay a step ahead. To know what other men _don't." _He stressed the last word, eyes boring into Reed's.

"I can't take this," Reed's friend growled and took a few steps towards Reed.

"Ben, this is business, just work." Reed reassured him as Sue's voice rung out clearly from beside her.

"He's right Ben, it is just business." she said and Ben turned around to look at her.

"I think you both know my Director of Genetic Research, Susan Storm, but I don't think you know one of our new recruits. Ms Faye, if you would step forwards please?" Victor said smugly as he gazed at Sue.

The two women walked forwards, Sadie's hands trembling and her mouth dry. Ben muttered to Reed, "One more thing he's got,"

"Hey, Susie!" Ben said cheerfully, his face splitting into a wide grin.

"Hey," she replied smiling as she threw her arms around Ben and squeezed tightly, "it's so nice to see you. How's Debbie?"

"Great," Ben replied as Sue released him and turned to Reed.

The two of them shared an intensely awkward moment before the dark-haired man asked uneasily, "How've you been?"

Sue replied coldly, "Never better," before facing the rest of the group. "Sadie, meet Ben,"

Ben stuck his hand out, clasped Sadie's tightly and shaking it, "Nice to meet you, Sadie. I'm Ben." Reed jumped from his daydream and stuck his hand out as he introduced himself quickly, something clearly on his mind.

Sue shook Reed's hand dispassionately as Ben gave the two an incredulous stare before shaking his head as Victor cut in, "This isn't going to be a problem, is it?" He sounded smug as he asked the question, his eyes playing a game of ping pong between the awkward scientists.

"No!" Sue assured him as Reed said, "Not at all."

"Good!" Victor strode purposefully down towards the four of them, "Because you're just in time to hear the great Reed Richards ask _me_ for help." He stopped in front of Sue, standing in incredibly close proximity to the blonde, "You know you made a lot of folks down at MIT feel like they were at a junior high science fair so you'll excuse me if I… _savor_ the moment."

Reed looked incredibly uncomfortable, his eyes wanting to look anywhere _but _at the two people in front of him. He pursued his lips before coming back with, "You back this mission and I'll sign over a fair percentage of any application-"

"The number's seventy-five." Victor said sharply, swiftly cutting off whatever Reed was about to say after that. The guy really had a talent for cutting people off, the obnoxious jerk, she thought quietly.

Reed looked incredulous as Victor continued, "And it's applications and patents."

"What about his first born?" Ben interjected, glaring at the CEO. Sadie snorted with laughter but passed it off as a cough when Victor turned to look at her amusedly.

"Ben…" Reed said warningly.

"Come on," Victor chuckled and smiled in what he thought was a friendly way. But in reality it looked more like a wildcat baring it's fangs to the helpless prey, a likeness which Sadie found mildly disturbing and kind of creepy, "25% of a billion is enough to keep the lights on for a while, isn't it? Maybe even pay off your fourth mortgage on the Baxter Building."

Both Reed and Ben looked up from their respective gaze points on the floor and it was clear that then they both saw Victor in a new light.

"Deal?" Victor stuck his hand out as Reed smoothed down the lapels of his jacket, obviously conflicted. Sue was gazing at him intently, which made Sadie wonder if there had ever been a past between them.

After a few minutes of thought, Reed Richards then proceeded to sell his soul to the devil. He grasped Victor's hand firmly and Victor smiled, "Well then, to our future,"

He stepped closer to Sue and wrapped his arm around her waist, "Together." Ben shot him a tight-lipped smile and Victor's Chershire Cat grin grew wider.

…

The two men had left the building, whispering intensely. Ben had seemed angry while Reed had seemed…_tired. _She shook her head and hurried to catch up with Sue, there was a question she needed to ask her.

"Uh, excuse me, Ms Storm – sorry, Sue," she corrected herself nervously.

"Yes?" Sue turned to her, a carefully polite smile on her face.

"When you said I was your new astrophysicist, does that mean I'm going on the mission with you or is there something related _to _the mission that you want me to do, or…" she trailed off uncertainly. Dear God, she now sort of hoped it was the latter because being up in space with the lunatic, Victor Von Doom did not sound so appealing right now. But then again, she had to think about whether she wanted to let a creep like Von Doom ruin what could possibly be the greatest experience she would ever have and the experience which would send her into the top picks for new NASA employees.

Sue chuckled, "Yes, you're coming with us. Why else would I have made you stand through that when I could have just briefed you later on specific details?"

"But," she jogged beside the blonde, "I was hired before Mr. Von Doom had officially heard Mr. Richards' business proposition. Did he, uh, _'shut them down' _so to speak?"

At the mention of Reed's last name, Sue went stiff all over. "Of course he did. You heard him; his _job _is to stay one step ahead. He was always going to accept the proposal. He was just trying to get as much money as he could out of it. It's business."

"Oh. Right." Sadie said quietly as she realized that in this game of cat and mouse, she was most definitely the mouse.

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**A/N: **How did I do? Please review and I'll update soon!


	2. Chapter 2

**Oh my God, you guys are legitimately amazing. Here's another (slightly more emotional) chapter for you. **

"My little baby's going to space!" Sadie's mom pinched her cheeks enthusiastically before pulling her into a tight, lavender scented hug. Sadie wrapped her arms around her mom tightly, hugging her close.

"I missed you too, mom." She said, her voice muffled by the fabric of her shirt.

Her mom finally gave her one last squeeze, let go and took a step back as she smiled fondly. Her shirt was splattered with droplets of dried paint, her jeans ripped and her pretty dark hair in a messy bun hanging at the nape of her neck. She sighed as she let her gaze travel around the paint splattered living room. "Sorry I didn't have a chance to clean all this up – oh, crap!" she swore as she stepped on a paintbrush.

Sadie's mom was a forgetful, good-natured artist who never really made her mind up about anything and tried to find the beauty in everything. She noticed the small laugh lines around her mom's face, the twinkle in her blue eyes and the creases at the corner of her mouth.

She stifled a laugh as her mom nearly knocked over the stack of swaying books that Sadie had affectionately named the _Leaning Tower of the Fayes_ when she was little. She followed her mother past the winding stacks of books, paintings, photo albums and art supplies, taking the opportunity to look around her home from when she was a child. She saw pictures of her and her brother Alex, family portraits, science books, all things that reminded her of her childhood.

Her fingers trailed over the stack of photo albums sitting in a messy pile as she drunk in the familiar sights of home. The two walked through the opened door into the even messier kitchen. She opened the oven and chuckled, "Mom?"

Her mother turned around, her hands full of paint brushes she'd pulled out of the sink, "Yeah?"

Sadie pulled out a paint palette and three bits of white chalk, holding them up in front of her with a questioning look on her face, "Really, Mom?"

Her mom's face lit up happily as she rushed over and grabbed the items from Sadie, "I was looking for these!" She beamed down at the paint brushes as she twirled them between her fingers and brushed the white chalk dust off her faded jeans.

She placed them in the open dishwasher – Sadie raised her eyebrows at that, but wisely chose to say nothing – and turned to face her daughter. "Sweetie, something's wrong. I can tell. What is it?"

She pressed her lips together nervously before spluttering out, "I'm _terrified_, okay? I don't want to go up in that huge rocket to space where God-knows-what could happen but at the same time I do, but…" she rubbed the heels of her palms into her eyes and moaned tiredly.

Her mom scooted over to her and rubbed a comforting hand across her back, "Sadie, it'll all be fine. Trust me," she laughed, "you're just like your father, you know? Always worrying so much, so _stressed _all the time that you both forget that life has its own way of working things out. It really does have a mind of its own. Besides, no one's pressuring you to do this."

"Yeah." She lied through her teeth and found a sudden interest in the floor beneath her feet. Her fingers tapped an ever increasing beat on the countertop. Of course she'd have to go; her father would give her hell if she didn't.

_Why can't you be more like Alex? _He'd ask her, never impressed by anything she did or achieved. It took a national award for science to even get the slightest appreciative twitch of his lips and her acceptance to MIT had only bought her a pat on the back. She tried so hard to make him happy, to make him see past Alex and all his fame and glory, and actually see his youngest child who lived in the shadow of her older brother.

If she turned it down, he'd give her that horrible, saddened look that made her feel about two inches tall before turning back to Alex. She didn't hate Alex, she couldn't hate him. It wasn't his fault that their father turned a blind eye to whatever she did.

"You're worried about him, your father, aren't you." It wasn't a question, more like a resigned statement. Her mom looked down at her open palms, her index finger tracing the lines on the skin as she let her lips slide into a worn smile.

She nodded wordlessly as her eyes bored a hole into the wall.

"I'll try and calm him down, it'll be fine sweetie, you'll see." She murmured softly, her arm twining protectively around her daughter with sad, woeful eyes.

Sadie mulled over that for a moment, her scattered thoughts making it impossible for her see the right choice. Her foot tapped a slow tattoo against the floor as she tried to fight the lump in her throat and the urge to run upstairs and bury herself in the soft sheets of her old room and surround herself with her band posters.

The two stayed like that for a little while, both lost in their own worries and thoughts that were crashing down on them.

…

Sadie stood beside Reed and Ben on the launch pad awkwardly as they squinted into the binoculars, looking at a figure far off into the distance. They did not look happy. Well, Ben didn't, Reed just looked kind of, well, sad. She gazed out at the road, the snarky inner voice in her head saying, _the road's just over there. You could hotwire a car and run now, it's not like they really need you anyway. _The thought was reassuring and slightly offensive at the same time. The wind blew her hair around her face, the strands tickling her nose and cheeks and she brushed them away irritatedly.

Ben dropped the binoculars from his face before exclaiming vehemently, "Can't do it. Can_not _do it." His facial features were pulled taut by a resentful glare which was directed at the speeding motorbike that was sending dust flying along the road.

Reed pulled the binoculars away as he answered his disgruntled friend, "External SRBs, the orbital system engines, it's just like the shuttle you flew," he reassured the apprehensive man.

Ben turned back from where he stood closer to Sadie, "No! I can_not _take orders from the underwear model."

Sadie snorted, "He was an underwear model. Jesus Christ..." Ben chuckled before turning back to Reed.

"Come on now, Ben." he protested.

"That wingnut washed out of NASA for sneaking two Victoria's Secret wannabes into a flight simulator." Sadie's ears perked up at the mention of NASA, she listened as she fiddled absently with the hem of her blouse.

"Youthful high spirits." Reed tried to excuse the underwear model's behavior, but that was pretty weak.

"They crashed it into a wall. A _flight simulator._" he repeated and Sadie burst out laughing.

"A flight simulator? You're kidding right?" she asked between fits of laughter as Ben shook his head. After she'd finished, she muttered, "Dear God, what an idiot."

"When have I ever asked you to do something you absolutely said you could _not _do?" Reed asked him quietly, stepping closer.

"Five times." Ben said, holding five fingers up in Reed's face for added effect. He spun on his heel and stalked off towards the stairs as Reed called after him, "I had it at four!"

"Yeah, well this makes five." Reed sighed at Ben and leaned forwards on the railing with his shoulders caved in and his head bowed. He probably wanted some alone time, Sadie figured as she carefully made her way down the stairs in heels. She scowled, replacing her apprehension with irritation. She hated heels. Hell, the only reason she wore heels was so she didn't look like a complete midget.

...

"Captain on the bridge!" A voice boomed from behind her and Ben jumped away from the lockers, his hand snapping up to his forehead in a perfect salute with his face completely straight and his gaze fixed ahead. It made Sadie wonder how long he'd been an astronaut; if his reflexes were that fast then that should say something about his time in the field.

A tall, muscular blonde dressed in a form-fitting blue suit tossed a camera in his palm and caught it, a smirk slipping onto his lips. "Digital camera: two hundred and ninety-four dollars, memory stick: fifty-nine dollars,"

Reed looked up from his computer towards the new arrival and sighed with an imperceptible roll of his eyes as the blonde continued, "The look on your hard-ass former CO's when he finds out you're his junior officer: priceless."

Ben looked absolutely murderous behind his barely maintained facade of calm as he stepped over to the other man. Sadie gulped as Ben reached for the fabric around his neck but was surprised as Ben merely zipped up his suit all the way.

"Thank you, that's so sweet." The younger man chuckled mockingly. His gaze landed on her and he smiled appreciatively as his eyes raked up her body. She scowled; _I will never wear one of these stupid-assed suits again, no matter who designed it. _

Blondie, as Sadie had decided to nickname him for the time being, gave her a flirty wink from around Ben's hulking figure, "Hey there, gorgeous."

She raised an eyebrow and replied coolly, "Does everyone visualize duct tape over your mouth so early into the conversation?"

Ben snorted, "I can handle the ship. I can even handle Mr. Blonde Ambition over here," he jerked his thumb over at Blondie as he walked back over to the closet, "but I'm not sure whether I should be flying or doing Swan Lake in these suits,"

He yanked one out of the closet and held it up to his body as if he was trying it on for size and continued ranting, "I mean, who the hell came up with these?"

"Victor did." A feminine voice sounded from behind the corner. Heels clicked briskly along the linoleum and Sue stopped in front of Ben, a stack of suits tucked under her left arm. Sadie couldn't help but be jealous of Sue's perfect physique, emphasized by the tight suit she had on. Sue turned to her, "Glad to see you could make it, Sadie."

"I'm glad I was invited," Sadie answered truthfully and politely at the same time. Now was not the time for snark, they might just decide to leave her up in outer space if she was too annoying and sarcastic.

Sue swiveled back around to face Ben, "The synthetics act as a second skin, adapting to your body's individual needs." she explained, as Reed stood up, awe taking over his face. Blondie cleared his throat loudly, demanding the attention. She wanted to mock-pout at him and say, _poor baby. Not getting enough attention? Suck it up, asshole. _

"See, now that means, it keeps the hot stuff hot and the cool stuff cool." he explained slowly as if he was talking to a kindergartener, his hands gesturing wildly. Sue turned to him with an irritated expression crossing her face.

"This is my younger brother – Johnny Storm, who you probably haven't met yet." Sue introduced as Johnny smirked.

"Sadie. Sadie Faye." She said shortly as she thrust her hand out. Johnny shook it and she couldn't help but notice how the way his eyes crinkled at the corners as he gave her that adorable smirk. _Snap out of it, Sadie. Yes, he's very cute but you seriously don't need to get involved with someone like him. He's got 'player' written all over him. _

Reed stopped in front of Sue who allowed a tiny, victorious smile onto her face as his gaze travelled up and down her figure. _Poor Sue, _she thought, _she seriously thinks he's checking her out? I doubt Reed wouldn't know what 'hot' was even if it came up to him with a name tag on and slapped him in the face. _

"Wow. Fantastic," he breathed and Sue's smug smile grew a tiny bit wider.

He continued, "Material made from self-regulating, unstable molecules," And just like that, all of Sue's sense of achievement dropped and her eyes lowered to the floor. Sadie resisted the urge to roll her eyes, "I've been working on a formula for this." He said excitedly as his fingers ran across the smooth material.

Johnny caught her amused smile and rolled his eyes at the pair. She nodded in agreement as Sue replied coldly, "Well, great minds think alike." Reed hadn't have appeared to have even heard her last quip, he had held the suit up to the light for a better look.

"Here you go, Ben," she said kindly as she handed the astronaut his suit.

"Thanks, sweetie." he replied.

"Reed," she shoved the protective suit at the scientist roughly and stalked off past him, not even sparing him a second glance. _Ouch, cold rejection. _

...

Sadie's face was white and covered with a thin sheen of sweat, her gray eyes wide and her hand clenching onto the seat so hard that the skin around her knuckles was white.

The launch had to be the scariest thing she'd ever experienced in her whole life. She took a deep, trembling breath and tried to calm herself as blood roared behind her ears and the irritatingly loud thumping of her heart tattooing itself across her mind. She squeezed her eyes closed, not wanting to look out the window with her face pressed eagerly to the glass, her breath fogging up the window as she drank in the sights like all the others were.

_Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out. _

She forced her tensed body to slowly relax, starting from her toes and going all the way up to her terrified mind which was showing her alarming pictures which were _not _helping her to relax at all. Sue had offered her some Tylenol for her throbbing headache which she'd accepted gratefully. The aforementioned blonde gave her a reassuring smile, "Two more minutes, Sadie."

She shuddered after giving Sue a small smile of gratitude, inhaling a shaky breath. She hugged her knees to her chest tightly, the Von Doom insignia on the wall glaring back at her. Johnny winked at her and she shuddered as she pointedly avoided his gaze.

Little did she know, that nothing would ever be the same after the little excursion.

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**Just wondering, do you think I should post a character profile of Sadie next chapter? Just like basic details and maybe a couple of notes on her personality, super powers, stuff like that. Review and tell me! **

******Next chapter will be pretty eventful, so, uh, stay tuned? :D **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Exciting chapter! Thanks so much for all the awesome reviews, they really make me want to keep writing. I love writing Johnny, it's so fun.

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It had taken a little while to load all the equipment in, Sadie never seen equipment that, well... flashy or professional looking except for at MIT. Reed and Susan were now quietly talking, both of them staring out of the windows wistfully at the beautiful view. She was now fully able to appreciate the sights now that she was off the rocket. She gulped as she remembered the horrible jolting of the rocket which had made her feel sick to her stomach.

Meanwhile, Johnny had decided it was a good idea to antagonize Ben, "If you're good, maybe next time Daddy will let you drive." Johnny taunted the older astronaut.

"You keep talkin' and there won't _be_ a next time." Ben muttered under his breath.

She followed the two men into the huge open control room, packed with sophisticated computers and expensive looking technology. She remembered the simple rule she had for whenever she was in somebody else's house – or in this case, space station. If it looks expensive, don't touch it. Ben stopped at the railing, his face awestricken as he looked around at the room.

"We can monitor the cloud's approach and observe the tests from here." Sue explained as she strode across the pathway.

"Is it safe?" Ben asked as he unzipped his protective suit. Sue didn't look too worried about it and Sadie _knew _Victor wouldn't have come along if it wasn't, so she concluded inwardly that she was all good.

"The shields on the station should protect us," Reed assured his friend as he stepped through the door and leaning on the railing, looking over at the view.

"_Should?" _Ben asked, his face drawn with concern.

"What's the matter, Ben? Getting paranoid in your old age?" An unpleasantly familiar voice asked from behind the three. Sadie swiveled around meet the calculating, icy gaze of the big man himself.

"Let's start loading those samples. Sadie, how about you go help Ben and Johnny? Get your suit ready, Ben." Reed interjected, trying to prevent the two from entering a full out brawl. Sadie was grateful to have something to do; she hated standing around awkwardly and not doing anything.

Ben unzipped his suit and turned to leave just as Victor called, "So, I see you're still doing all the heavy lifting." He looked amused as he teased the older astronaut.

He stopped and sighed as Victor continued, "Maybe you should have stayed in the lab. Fieldwork never suited you." It seemed that to her the insult was directed to Reed this time. Ben spun on his heel and stalked back towards Victor angrily.

"He does the talking, I do the walking, got it?" Ben snapped curtly.

Victor nodded as if he was pretending to understand, "So take a walk, Ben,"

Ben looked started, shocked then angry at having fallen into Victor's trap, "Actually, if you'll all excuse me, I need to borrow Susan," this time, Victor turned to her and said, "Sadie, go with Ben and help him set up with Johnny."

At the mention of her name, Sue looked up from the computer screen she was busy tapping at, her face filled with questioning shock. Ben stalked out without so much as a second glance at Sue or Victor.

Reed shrugged, "Sure."

…

She strapped on one of the many belts and buckles that seemed to cover every inch of the astronaut suit he was wearing as Johnny slotted on the oxygen tank onto the back, "Please tell me your guy's not trying to rekindle things with my sister."

She looked up, "What?"

Johnny sighed, "My sister and Reed used to date. Then something happened, not that it's any of your business anyways, beautiful."

Sadie glared at him, "Stop calling me '_beautiful_', it's annoying." She snapped, irritated now.

He blinked, rolled his eyes and turned around to redo some of the buckles she'd just done. Sadie chose to keep her mouth shut as she pursued her lips tightly, crossing her arms and stepped away from him.

"Course not, strictly business." Ben answered, his voice muffled by the helmet.

"Yeah, well his eyes say differently, don't they?" Johnny came back quickly and Sadie rolled her eyes.

"Wow, Johnny. So emotional." she snorted.

He decided to ignore her as Ben swatted away his hand and said, "Two hearts got busted last time. Maybe she's not over it either."

Johnny's face twisted into a mocking expression, "Wow, Dr. Phil. That's deep. Let's think about that," Sadie wanted to punch him, she'd seen that expression too many times plastered on the fake faces of the popular people that shoved her around.

He turned on his heel and stalked over to the case of samples to hand to Ben, "You got Victor, more money than God, stud of the year, and you got Reed, world's dumbest smart guy, worth less than a postage stamp.

Sadie scooped up the other samples case into her arms and followed the two men into the airlock chamber as Johnny finished, "That's a _real_ toss up."

"Don't trouble your tiny mind," Ben said scathingly.

"Don't wander off now, boy." Johnny taunted in a mock-paternal tone as he backed out of the chamber and stood next to where she was at the control console, decidedly ignoring her. _"Securing airlock chamber," _a robotic voice spoke smoothly.

As the door slid closed, Johnny turned to Ben, hand reaching up in a sardonic salute and then flashed him a quick thumbs up. Ben actually returned the thumbs up, which she was more than surprised about. The light reflected off Ben's glass-plated face as he turned and faced the opening airlock chamber.

...

"Ben, you need to get inside _now_!" Reed yelled as he dashed towards where Johnny and Sadie stood awkwardly, not talking or looking at each other. Sadie's head snapped up and her eyes locked on Reed's scared brown ones.

"What's going on?" she asked worriedly as she struggled to keep pace with him as he marched determinedly over to the control console.

From where he was out in space by the station, Ben chuckled, _"I ain't done arranging your flowers yet, egghead." _His voice was crackly with static and she could hear the bemused smile in his voice.

"Ben, turn around." Sadie's jaw dropped as she saw the huge, looming red cloud that threatened to engulf the stranded astronaut. She watched, horror stricken as the sound of Ben gasping in fear crackled through the intercom. A huge blast from the storm destroyed part of the bridge and she grabbed onto something for support.

Ben's voice was quietly resigned, "Guys, I'm not going to make it."

"Ben, you gotta jump! It's the only way!" Johnny called fearfully into the earpiece as Reed pressed his hands and face against the glass. Sadie watched, frozen in place, as Ben flung himself off the platform, slowly drifting to the space station and noted the close proximity of the storm to the station.

"Come on, Ben! You got it!" he yelled over the roaring winds of the cosmic storm, his eyes wide with terror for the astronaut.

"Johnny, get ready to close the portal, Sadie, you stay here with me and help him in," Reed said as Johnny darted over to the control console, his fingers poised to press the buttons.

Sadie jumped at the sound of a large _thwap _against the glass of the airlock chamber and saw Ben squashed up against the glass. In her peripheral vision, Sadie saw the storm swallow another whole section of the bridge. The reddish-orange storm seemed to be catching up to him quickly, quicker than he could open the portal for Ben.

For a few seconds as the portal was opened, all she could see were reds, yellows and oranges flashing and darting across her vision and she barely had time to react as the cosmic cloud swept through the room, sending her shooting backwards. For a second she was weightless, suspended in midair suffering an intense burning sensation. Every muscle in her body was on fire, her lungs were suddenly tightening in her chest and _squeezing. _The pressure was unbearable another wave crashed into her, pushing her back through the glass and to the wall behind her. Fiery jolts of pain shot through her chest with every shuddering gulp of air she drew into her lungs. Small cuts littered her arms and legs as she crashed through the glass.

Her head snapped back as it hit one of the corners of the computer screens and a warm wetness seeped through her hair and slowly trickled down her neck. Her breathing was shallow as her hands fluttered uselessly around the large bloodstain marring her protective suit.

The suit clung to with blood, _her _blood. Her fingers probed the sore area and she let out a low stream of curses as she prodded a particularly painful spot. Tears of pain rolled down her cheeks and she bit down on her lower lip to prevent herself from crying out. Sadie pushed herself up into a sitting position, propping her bruised body up against the wall, gasping shallowly for breath. She hardened her resolve, pushed the burning ache in her ribcage to the back of her mind and straightened herself up. She could see Johnny sitting numbly on the ground, blood trickling from the side of his face and his eyes desperately searching for someone.

She couldn't see Sue, Reed or Ben, though. Her head fell limply onto her chest which was rising and falling weakly. Through her half lidded eyes she saw Johnny crawling over to her, blue eyes terrified and his mouth shaping words she couldn't understand through the thick haze of pain. Sadie slumped back against the wall as the black spots finally grew large enough to totally obscure her vision.

...

_Beep. Beep. Beep. _

Bright lights blinded her vision momentarily and she reached out to throw an arm across her face, shielding her eyes from the harsh glare. After a little while, as Sadie got used to the fluorescent splashes of white shooting across her line of sight, she allowed her eyes to open a crack. She was in a hospital room. Sadie propped herself up on her elbows and appraised her surroundings.

Normally she hated hospitals, their whitewashed walls and the awful stench of disinfectant which was used to conceal the smell of broken hope, but this room was quite nice with its perfect view of the snow-capped mountains and the scent of lilies lingering in the air. The last time she'd been in a hospital room was when she was nine. Sadie had fallen off her roller blades and smacked her head against the concrete, resulting in a minor concussion and a small cut running across her forearm. Her fingers travelled across the raised skin and she scowled at the memory.

But dear God, her chest hurt more than anything. Well, more specifically her lungs. It hurt to breathe in, just a little though. She took a deep, purposeful inhale of the cold air and determinedly ignored the dull burning in her chest.

For some reason, she felt lighter. Not as tired and weighed down as she usually did, but maybe that was because of the long morphine-induced coma she'd been in for however long. Sadie arched her back as she stretched luxuriously, reveling in the feeling of her muscles being relieved from their cramped state. She felt the sticky sheen of sweat beading down her collarbone, _it's too hot in here... _she thought as she kicked the sheets off her legs,

She pulled her legs up into a sitting position as she rolled her shoulders back and firmly planted her feet on the ground. A flicker of doubt shot through her mind. Should she really be doing this or should she wait for someone? _Well, no one's here. They've kept me cooped up in here forever. _She thought. As she stood up, vertigo swirled through her and her knees buckled as they threatened to collapse from underneath her.

She spotted a pair of jeans and a blue hoodie laid out for her on the side of the bed with a pair of Converses. She fingered the soft material of the jeans before pulling them on and yanked her hair into a messy braid as she pulled the coat on. She crept out the door, ignoring the pain in her chest and the resulting head rush.

She needed to wash her face and clear her thoughts. It all hadn't quite sunk in yet, the cosmic explosion on the space station and the fact that she'd actually _been to space and back _– every astrophysicist's dream. She squealed slightly – earning her a few looks from the staff to which she immediately flushed and bit her lip to suppress any more outbursts. Seeing the bathroom sign, she pushed the swinging door open and stepped inside before the heat and dizziness took over.

The dull pain in her chest slowly increased to a tight burning sensation like someone was binding her lungs with a hot rubber band and then rolling them out with a rolling pin.

The weightless feeling hadn't disappeared yet, her feet glided across the floor as she kept the swirling at bay. Bending over, she sighed as she splashed her face with water and the pain, dizziness and the heat disappeared. She was too thankful to question it, lathering her hands with soap and water and raising her head to look up at her reflection. Her jaw dropped, her eyes widened and she felt butterflies erupt in her stomach.

Her hands were coated in a thin, roiling layer of water which had somehow solidified into perfectly fitting gloves. Focusing her energy into the palm of her hand, she concentrated hard and her brows furrowed. The scientist within her was aching to find out about this and was pushing away the more rational side of her- the side that was about to pass out from shock. Sadie squeezed her eyes shut and opened them as she felt the raw power coursing through her veins and focusing in the middle of her cupped hands.

The water was a perfectly spherical ball in her hands, she marveled as she bounced it against the ground and watched as it flew back up to her. She closed her fist tightly and willed the ball to go back to its normal state, watching as the water seeped through her fingers.

Suddenly exhausted, she slumped back against the cool tiles of the wall and rested her head on the brim of the sink, too tired to feel anything but shock. Her terrified side had made an appearance. _This is crazy, just a crazy dream. _The words became her mantra as she closed her eyes determinedly. Granted, this was a pretty outlandish for a dream, but anything was possible in a dream. She hugged her legs tightly to her chest.

She wanted to go home.

* * *

**A/N: **What did you think? Was it good? Next chapter, the awesome Brooklyn Bridge scene!

I know that the whole '_wa__ter-powered-Johnny-girl' _thing is kinda over done, but I actually have reasons for doing it, which you'll see later on in the story. Do you guys like Sadie so far (as a character)? Is there anything I could work on, characterization wise?

Oh yeah, and about the character profile thing, taking into account the two opposing view points, I might do it when I've finished this story. How does that sound?

Thanks for reading, please review!


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **So sorry about the late update – school is a nightmare! Thanks for all the awesome reviews! Extra long chapter because I'm such a jerk and forgot to update! ;)

...

The two scientists and one half-naked astronaut quickly marched down the corridor of Von Doom's quarantine centre.

"The cloud has fundamentally altered our DNA." Reed agreed grimly, staring in shock as Johnny's fingertips caught fire once again.

"Cool!" Johnny laughed gleefully. "And you know what guys; I think I was _flying_..." he trailed off in awe.

Sue froze, just remembering something, "Shit, Reed, where's Sadie?" Her eyes darted around the small group. Johnny shrugged, more immersed in his cool fire powers than anything else. Reed looked worried as well about the girl, who knew what effects the cloud would be having on her! He'd already seen what it did to him, Sue and Johnny; he longed to see what had happened to her too. Sadie had been asleep far longer than the rest of them, bordering on three days. That meant the changes overtaking her body were affecting all her systems, not just one and were taking far longer to have an effect. If his theory was right, she should have a little more control over her abilities than either Sue or Johnny.

Johnny smirked as he snapped his fingers again, chuckling in amazement as they burst into flame once more, "_Flame on!" _he whispered under his breath, mesmerized by the dancing flames.

Sue turned to her brother, eyes blazing with irritation. "Johnny, shut up. We've all seen your-" she waved her hands towards his flaming fingers "-powers before, we don't need to see them again."

Facing Reed, she said, "I'll go find Sadie. You find Ben." She spun on her heel and darted off in the direction of Sadie's room. The wind whipped past her face as she sprinted past the doors, counting down the numbers in her head. _143...142...141...139...138! Gotcha! _She peeked through the open door, heart thumping rapidly as she saw that no one was there.

_Okay. Maybe she's in the... in the bathroom! _Sue thought, running down the corridor and skidding to a halt when she reached the bathroom.

She threw the door open and stopped as she saw the hunched figure sitting under the sink, their head in their hands and they were breathing in and out quickly. As she slowly recognized Sadie's long dark hair, she stopped at the doorway. "_Sadie?" _She asked softly as not to alarm her.

The brunette jumped and whipped around to face Sue, gray eyes wide and alert. Her skin was pale and the bags under her eyes held a purplish tint, "_Sadie?" _she repeated carefully, edging towards the younger girl.

"Has it happened to you as well?" Sadie asked quietly.

Sue nodded wordlessly, sitting down beside her and wrapping a cautious arm around her shoulders. Sadie sighed heavily, the heels of her palms rubbing into her eyes, "How screwed up is this, huh?" She laughed without humor.

"Yeah, yeah it is." Sue agreed as she gazed wistfully out the window. She didn't know why Sadie had emotionally progressed beyond being stunned but she waved it off as just everything crashing down on her. "Can I see?" she asked tentatively.

"Watch this." Sadie said as she directed her gaze over to the open bathroom stall. Closing her eyes again, she threw her arms out and all the water was released from her body in a large shield which surrounded her in a dome. Sue poked the dome curiously to find out that it absorbed the vibrations and threw them back at her. She staggered back, eyes wide as she took in what had happened.

Sadie slumped back against the wall exhaustedly as the structure collapsed around her and Sue darted towards her as she went limp. She was incredibly confused about Sadie's powers as hers and Johnny's powers seemed to be activated by intense emotions like frustration and sadness or in Johnny's snow-boarding case, exhilaration. It was possible that in Johnny's situation the adrenaline release had triggered the fire but she didn't think Sadie's seemed to work like that.

Maybe it was because she'd been out longer than the rest of them. It was highly plausible that the cosmic storm on the station had hit her quite badly and had been slowly changing her internal structure over the duration of time that she had been unconscious. Her temperature was colder than the normal human temperature and now that Sue was closer, Sadie seemed slightly taller and her muscles just a little more defined.

Sue wrapped Sadie's arm around her neck and supported her as she helped the unconscious girl up. Sue kicked the door open with a foot and staggered out, Sadie's form still leaning on hers.

She managed to make it a few steps before she saw Reed. "Johnny, Reed! I've got her." Reed whipped around as his arm slowly peeled out from under the door and the flesh, muscle and bone shrunk back into place.

"That's gross." Johnny said pointedly, still holding the nurse's pink ski jacket around his waist.

Reed shot him a look as he turned to Sue. The two jogged over to Sue and the unconscious Sadie who was still leaning on the blonde, eyes wide. "Sue, is she okay?" Reed asked, his fingers searching for Sadie's pulse on her wrist.

"She's fine," Sue managed as she readjusted Sadie's arm. "She found out about her powers, showed me and I suppose it was too much and she collapsed."

Johnny reached a hand out and helped Sue support the unconscious girl by wrapping her other arm around his shoulders. He flinched as the skin of her arm brushed against him. "Damn, she's freezing." He muttered as her head lolled to the side. She was interesting-looking, he observed, but not in the usual way he liked. Her curly eyelashes brushed the tops of her cheekbones and her pointy chin, wide eyes and her freckle-dusted ski slope nose gave her a pixie-like attractiveness. Her gray eyes were filled with intelligence and he noticed the small chip in her right canine as her head dropped on his shoulder.

He tried to brush her hair off his shoulder but ended up poking her cold cheek. A cool flash rippled through his skin as she jolted awake and leapt out of the siblings grip. "W-what'd I miss?" Sadie asked as she tried to calm her racing heart.

All she'd felt before she woke up was a burning streak across the side of her cheek and her automatic reflex had been to punch – which she was glad she had suppressed as she looked back at Johnny who was staring at her warily. Ever since she'd woken up, her reflexes had been going crazy. She'd jumped into an attack stance if someone so much as surprised her.

"Uh, well, you've been out for a while...longer than most of us..." Reed said worriedly, stepping closer ever so slightly.

"Where's Ben?" Sadie asked, noting the absence of the astronaut.

Reed and Johnny shared a look, "That's what we're worried about." The scientist admitted, gesturing to the open door to Ben's room. Sue and Reed entered, leaving her and Johnny outside.

She flushed bright pink as she realized that he was only dressed in a jacket which was wrapped around his waist tightly. Her cheeks slowly reddened as her gaze travelled up his toned, muscled chest and up to his smirking face.

"See something you like?" He asked, his irritating smirk growing more pronounced by the second.

Forcing her face to cool down, Sadie met his eyes and replied, "Yeah, you wish." He blinked at her snappy response before raising his eyebrows at her and dropping his left eye in a flirty wink.

"However, that ski jacket is quite nice." She suppressed a laugh at his shocked expression as she pushed past him and stepped into Ben's room. Outside, Johnny shook his head, laughing a little as he processed her response. Feisty. He smirked at the thought. Sadie was good, but unfortunately for her, he was better.

He stepped into Ben's room and his jaw dropped at the sight of the massive hole in the wall, glass and steel raining down like a deadly waterfall. If he squinted and cocked his head ever so slightly to the left, he could make out the shape of a large, lumbering figure pushing through the forest. "What is that?" he asked.

"What's going on?" A voice asked from behind the four, authority and confidence ringing in each syllable. "What happened here?" Victor questioned. Sadie stifled a gasp of shock as she noted the haggard circles underneath his eyes, the sallow tint to his normally tanned flesh and the long, jagged scrape down the side of his face which was held together by staples.

"Victor...are you feeling all right?" Sue asked the business man, eyes drinking in his tired and worn pose and the lines on his face that hadn't been there before they had boarded the space station.

"I'm fine, just a few scrapes, that's all." The aforementioned brushed off Sue's concern– none of which, Sadie believed, Victor deserved.

"Ben did this; he's had some kind of...reaction to exposure from the cloud." Reed muttered as he nervously glanced towards Victor, sensing his barely contained facade of calm.

Sue tried to explain things quickly, "We all have different... _symptoms." Well_, Sadie thought_, that was one way to describe it_.

"Symptoms?" Victor asked worriedly.

"Victor, I should have-"Sue began, lacing her fingers together and sorrow sinking into her tone.

"Just find him." Victor cut her off before spinning on his heel and stalking out of the room, his cold demeanor vanishing with him.

"Any ideas where the big guy's going?" Johnny asked from his casual position leaning on the wall next to the gaping hole.

Reed's eyes dropped to the floor and an immeasurable look of sadness passed over his face. Stooping down, he scooped up a photograph of Ben and a pretty blonde with curly golden hair beaming happily at the camera, "He's going home."

…

The yellow cab screeched to a halt, tires skidding against the road and Sadie flung the door open, trying not to hit any of the other cars in the horrific traffic jam. By the time the four of them had reached the Brooklyn Bridge, the congestion was so thick that all they could see were countless cars and all they could hear were multiple car horns blaring loudly and people whispering in shock. The impromptu rescue-Ben team shouldered their way through the crowds; it was exceptionally hard for Sadie, who stood at a measly five foot six and a half to see over the crowd.

They were pushed back by the armed police guards at the front. "What do we do now?" said Sue, looking anxiously towards Reed for an answer.

"We're not going to get past these guards," Reed pointed out as a spark of an idea glinted in his eyes, "but you could."

Sue looked at him incredulously before sighing and squeezing her eyes closed. Slowly, her body began to disappear, all traces of her tanned flesh fading away until what remained of Sue was a set of floating clothes. The gaggle of noise around the four grew louder and Reed hissed, "Sue, your clothes! Loose them."

"Oh, right!" The invisible Sue yanked off her jacket and Johnny turned around, not wanting to see his sister strip down in public.

"This is so _wrong..."_ he muttered, looking anywhere but at Sue.

Just as Johnny had decided to face his sister again, the noise grew louder. A floating set of matching underwear was hovering in midair, attracting the attention of multiple bystanders. What happened next was even worse. Sue's slim, nearly naked figure began to flicker back into vision and Reed's eyes widened. Sue noticed the state she was currently dressed in, let out a small shriek of embarrassment and covered herself up hastily with her arms.

"You've been working out," Reed stated.

"_Shut up," _Sue hissed, eyes flashing angrily as she wrapped her coat around herself. Sadie flushed red with embarrassment for Sue as she turned around and buried the heels of her palms into her eyes.

"Anymore great ideas? Why don't you strip down and have nearly a hundred people stare at you!" she spat venomously and her image began to flash as her figure died away.

"Sue." Reed said, with wide eyes as he took in her invisible figure.

"What?" she scowled bitterly before realizing, "Oh." she said as she then proceeded to drop her coat.

"I'm gonna need therapy," Johnny declared, looking anywhere but at what was left of Sue.

"C'mon, let's get out of here." Reed whispered covertly to Johnny and Sadie, who scooped up Sue's remaining clothes and rushed after Reed. The three darted along the sidewalk unnoticed by the police and the crowd who were too perplexed with the invisible figure that kept bumping into them to even notice a couple of people sneak around the side.

Sue reappeared beside Sadie and said in a low voice, "Sadie, I need my clothes back," Sadie handed them to the invisible figure that then proceeded to quickly change as she averted her eyes. A few minutes later, Sue was fully clothed and glaring furiously at Reed, "I can't believe you made me do that."

"We got through, didn't we? Just find Ben?" he protested before dashing quickly off through the mess of cars.

Sue, Sadie and Johnny moved a little to get a better view, but as each one got a glimpse of Ben, they stopped short. He was huge and scaly, coated in layers of thick, orange rock which made up each of his features. When he finally spoke, his voice was a few octaves lower than it used to be and it sounded gravellier.

Johnny's head snapped to the side as he heard the cry of a small girl, "Mom? _Mom?" s_he called, looking around for help. A small bang was heard and a gas tank exploded violently as Johnny leapt off the taxi and yanked the girl to the side, each car after that exploding in succession. He shielded her with his flame-resistant body as she shut her eyes tightly.

The oncoming fire truck swerved, urgently trying to avoid collision with the deadly looking orange explosion. Half of it crashed through the bridge and was left hanging off the side precariously, men sliding off the ladders and hanging on desperately for their lives.

As the explosion hurtled towards Sue, she thrust her arms out, creating a shield which pushed it back into a contained area. The force field shimmered and winked into existence, giving the orange mushroom cloud a shine to its surface.

As the firemen climbed down the ladders to help their friend, the truck swayed dangerously and tilted even further. Ben tried to pull the truck down to balance it out, but ended up shaking the firemen as Reed stretched his arms to impossible lengths to rescue some of the men handing off the side.

"_Reed!" _Sue yelled as she caught sight of the last fireman hanging precariously from the ladder on the truck. He kept fumbling with the metal handle and was clearly struggling to hang on. Sadie shot a desperate glance at Reed but her heart sank as she saw him lifting two other men to safety.

Her head snapped back around as she heard a hollow, piercing scream erupt from the man's mouth as the fire truck wobbled and he lost his grip, hands clutching feebly at the empty air. She didn't even think about what came next. Running at a full sprint towards the side of the railing, Sadie flung herself off the side just as the man hit the water. She could hear Reed and Sue yelling at her, how she was too tired and using her powers would drain her too much but ignored them resolutely.

The wind whipped past her face, the chilly air biting into her skin and running through her hair. For a few seconds, she went downward at a speed that constricted her throat so badly that she could hardly breathe. _"SADIE!" _She heard Sue scream hoarsely as she plunged into the icy water of the East River. Sadie hit the water with a crash that should have knocked her unconscious but she stayed awake as she slowly sunk through the top layer of the water.

Her body's automatic response was to clamp her mouth shut and force herself not to breathe in. She was surrounded by murky water of an incredible pressure that should have been crushing her lungs. But, she reasoned as she took a long inhale of the water and shuddered as the coolness seeped slowly through her body, maybe the cosmic storm had something to do with it. After all, it just felt like normal breathing. The water muffled her ears and she could hear nothing but the dull _swooshes_ of the waves as she sunk further into the cool blackness.

She let her eyes slowly open and scanned the space around her. Bits of her dark hair floated around her hair like long strings of seaweed and obscured her vision. _Shit, where is he? _Sadie panicked as she looked for the tell-tale symbol of the fireman's uniform shining through the darkness. She kicked powerfully downwards, arms paddling ferociously as she thought, _huh. It wasn't ever this easy in Gym class. _She kept determinedly breathing in the cold water, small bubbles of air escaping her parted lips. Her wet jeans and hoodie clung to her tightly, dragging her down into the cold depths as she kicked harder.

Sadie yanked off the hoodie and continued swimming down into the blackness. She couldn't see anything now which terrified her beyond belief until the faint sound of popping bubbles reached her ears. She frantically swam towards the sound, relying completely on her enhanced hearing to guide her. Something brushed her leg and Sadie screamed but composed herself as she realized it was exactly what she'd been looking for.

It was a hand brushing against her jeans and Sadie yanked it up and over her shoulder, the dead weight of the fireman on her back. She began kicking to the surface but then a horrifying thought struck her, it was too far up. She glanced back at his peaceful face; he'd die if she swam. It'd take too long. She gritted her teeth and focused on the water around her as it roiled and churned before spitting them out.

Water rose up in a huge, towering column before collapsing on the Brooklyn Bridge, raining down on the people. She skidded a few feet across the concrete, earning herself a few nasty scrapes across her upper arms. She staggered to her feet exhaustedly and stumbled over to the limp body of the man she'd rescued. Placing her hands on his chest she concentrated on the last of her energy reserves and his eyes flew open, glowing blue before he let his mouth fall slack, water gushing out.

She helped him into a sitting position as he spluttered and coughed up the rest of the water. Sadie rocked back on her heels as applause roared around her ears, the cheering sounds were all she could hear. Spots swam through her vision as she rubbed her eyes in shock. The people were chanting for her, they _liked _her. They appreciated her efforts. A small smile tugged at her lips but soon vanished as a fuming Sue, a worried Reed and an impressed Johnny stalked forwards. Ben loitered near the back, not wanting to be near when Sue's wrath was set loose.

"What the _hell _did you think you were doing?" Sue demanded with her hands on her hips and in her best Mom voice. She'd probably had a lot of practice, what with raising Johnny. "You're so reckless! You can't drain yourself like that, hell, you could have _died_ out there if you hadn't had enough energy!"

"But I did," Sadie protested weakly and immediately regretted it as she saw miniature explosions go off in Sue's blue eyes. _Oh God help me. _

"Sadie, that's not the point," Sue pinched the bridge of her nose with the tips of her fingers and sighed, "you just didn't think. You can't be this reckless, it doesn't only put you in jeopardy, but how do you think the rest of us would feel?"

Sadie swallowed uncomfortably. Sue turned and muttered, "I need a cup of coffee," before storming off with Reed hot on her heels behind her.

A warm hand clapped her on the shoulder, "For the record, my sister was talking bullshit. That was one of the coolest things I've ever seen." Johnny gave her a knowing, slightly cheeky smile.

She laughed at the unexpected compliment, "Thanks."

He frowned slightly as he noticed watery blood dripping down her arms, "Sadie, you're bleeding." Sadie craned her neck over to look at her forearms and winced as she saw the bloody scratches running along her arms. "C'mon, let's go to the paramedics, they'll have a bandage,"

Johnny led her through the crowd of applauding people over to the paramedic tent. She sagged against him exhaustedly as more spots flashed around her vision, "Why are you being nice to me, Johnny?" she mumbled sleepily as the chill began to seep into her skin. She shuddered as the freezing water dripped from her wet hair and rolled in beads down her neck. Sadie looked up at the taller man who looked back at her strangely.

He looked startled at the question, "Well, it doesn't hurt to be nice sometimes," Johnny shrugged, his eyes never leaving hers, "because it doesn't hurt to be nice to people every once in a while."

She had no response to the blonde's honest declaration of the truth, instead choosing to watch as the blonde girl from Ben's picture left a glinting diamond ring on the ground in front of his feet and slowly backed away. Reed stooped down and scooped up the ring, seeing how Ben was having trouble managing picking up such a delicate object with his large fingers.

Life really can be a bitch, she thought grimly.

**A/N: **How was that for the Brooklyn Bridge scene? This had been in my head ever since I'd watched the F4 and I really wanted to put it out there. Review, please!


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Thank you all so much for the attention this story is receiving! I never in a million years expected this response for my crappy little fic. Sooooooo…. On with the story!**

Sadie's heart broke for Ben as he sat miserably in the corner of the paramedics tent, turning the ring over and over in his rocky palm. She'd just finished getting bandaged up and they'd made her change into new clothes because her old ones were sopping wet and she'd just taken an impromptu swim in them. She fidgeted with the tight bandaging around her arms; the material was soft to the touch and squishy.

She looked up just as Johnny asked possibly the most insensitive question he'd ever asked in front of her, "Where are your ears?" It was directed to Ben who just gave him one of those looks. She sighed and pressed her lips together, suppressing an exhausted yawn.

Another man entered the room in a fluorescent jacket, "There are some folks outside that want to talk to you."

Reed objected, "We're not going public with this, we're scientists, not _celebrities._"

The man looked at him disbelievingly, "It's too late, son!" As he saw that Reed clearly wasn't getting the picture, he turned to the TV, "Look."

Sadie looked up at the news report of what had just happened recently and was shocked to see shots of her dripping frame hunched over the unconscious fireman's filling up the screen and the massive eruption of water that sent her flying out, before moving to shots of Ben and the others.

"That's what they're calling you. '_The Fantastic Five.'_" The guy stated simply.

"Cool!" Johnny exclaimed, breaking into a jog out of the tent.

"No, wait! Where are you going?" Sue questioned her impulsive younger brother annoyedly.

"I'm gonna go talk to them."

"No, we should think this through."

"That's great, brainstorm!" he said excitedly as he quickly made his way out of the tent.

Sue and Reed shared a look before bolting out of the tent, after Sue's hot-headed brother, "Get back here _right now. JOHNNY_!" Sue growled furiously, jogging after Johnny, her fists clenched by her sides.

Sadie followed them, darting through the crowds, swamped in her oversized jacket which fell to her mid-thigh. She played with the hem of the jacket absently as she caught up to them and stood beside Johnny who turned to her, beaming, "Do you believe this?"

The guy from the tent spun around to face them, "Which one of you is the leader?"

Johnny adopted a casually relaxed pose and answered, "That would be me." He smirked at Sadie who avoided his gaze and rolled her eyes with a sardonic smile tugging at her lips.

"No," the guy laughed, "seriously."

Reed stepped forwards as the guy said, "Okay, son. You're on."

Sadie felt sorry for Reed, the poor guy looked terrified in front of all the cameras and microphones being shoved in his face hastily and the incessant flashing of the camera, not at all like Johnny who was perfectly at ease and probably knew how to play the press like a board game.

Reed began, "During our recent mission to the Von Doom space station, we were exposed to as yet unidentified radioactive energy."

This comment brought on a whole new wave of questions like, "_What happened on the bridge?"_ and _"How far can you stretch?" _

A few were directed to Johnny, _"Were you really on fire?" _and _"Is it true you can fly?" _

Johnny responded, "Yeah, I'm working on it. It's actually really difficult!"

To her surprise, she got some too. But, she reasoned, she must have made quite a show, jumping off the Brooklyn Bridge and resurrecting a man from the 'dead'.

"_What's the biggest body of water you've manipulated?" _and _"Care to show us some tricks?" _

She shrunk back from the intrusive questions and pulled her jacket around her tighter as she scuttled back behind Sue and Reed, away from the press' hungry gazes and piercing comments.

"No, actually, we do not know much more than you do at this point," Sue interjected before Johnny could say anything else. "We'll be going directly to our lab to diagnose our symptoms." she continued firmly.

"_Symptoms? Is this some kind of disease?" _A brunette reporter inquired skeptically and Sadie groaned, _Great. _The last thing she needed was for the rumor to get out that she had some kind of freaky disease.

"No, no, no, no. It's not a disease," Johnny corrected her, "if having special powers is a disease, then, yeah, we got it bad."

A chuckle rippled through the press before one reporter called out, _"Excuse me, but that thing doesn't look so fantastic." _

Sadie stepped in quickly, surprising herself a little, "Well, that _thing _just saved a ton of people's butts out there, something I didn't see _you _doing. So, yeah, he looks pretty fantastic to me." she added disdainfully, stepping back as the press began to chatter again.

Ben gave her a small, appreciative smile and in that moment, she knew that she could truly count Ben Grimm as one of her friends in this new found reality. "Ben Grimm is a genuine American hero." Reed announced, glaring at the reporter.

"What he means is," Johnny slung an arm around Ben's rocky shoulder, "every team needs a mascot." Sadie's eyes widened, looking nervously over at Ben.

The press laughed loudly again as Sue snapped, horrified, "_Johnny!" _

He ignored his older sister and proclaimed with a beam on his face, "A new day is dawning! The day of the Fantastic Five!"

Reed angrily shoved Johnny's arm off his shoulders, "Look, we went up to space to find a way to understand DNA, cure disease, save lives. Well, now it's our DNA, our disease, our lives on the line."

Sadie gulped. Hearing Reed say it made it sound a lot more, well… real. And she wasn't quite sure if she was ready to quit living in her blissful dream-like state to come back to this harsh, cold reality.

…

She slumped down in her seat, her breath coming in short gasps, "I can't go out there. They'll eat me alive." She jerked a thumb out the car window towards the hundreds, perhaps thousands of people crowded around the Baxter Building, hoping to catch a glimpse of the Fantastic Five. Her hands shook as her knees knocked together and she gently pushed the door of the police car open.

She didn't see why she was so apprehensive about this, she'd already snapped at a reporter on live television. Sadie quickly darted behind Sue and walked in her shadow, trying not to attract attention. Johnny, being Johnny, was lapping up the attention with his arms thrown out and he was receiving applause, grinning smugly at his new-found popularity.

Sue rolled her eyes and Ben stalked past him, grunting and glaring. Sadie could sympathize with him; Johnny just made her blood boil. He'd pretty much told her that she was a horrible person and then turned around and embarrassed Ben in front of the whole of America, she didn't think that the news would have spread internationally yet. Reed looked like he was facing a lion as he quickly walked into the Baxter Building.

So she wouldn't be left with Johnny – who would humiliate her so badly she'd never be able to show her face again, she darted through the doors in time to hear a gray haired man ask with amusement and curiosity in his eyes, "Is all that for you, Dr. Richards?"

"I'm afraid so," he sighed.

The three of them walked in silence over to the elevator. Sadie swept her eyes over the lobby, noting the multiple people who seemed very familiar with Reed. She took another deep breath, steadying herself as she stepped in.

…

She bent over, hands on her knees as she gasped for air, her lungs burning. Sadie considered herself pretty fit, she ran and swam a lot but those goddamned stairs were going to be the death of her. Apparently Ben had 'exceeded the maximum weight' for the elevator and had to step out. Knowing how it felt to be excluded, she'd offered to climb the torturously steep hike of stairs that headed up to Reed's floor.

Ben had finished before her, his longer legs taking larger strides and taking at least three stairs at a time. She felt lightheaded, tired and worn – even before the hike up the stairs, but most of all, she was dehydrated. Her lungs ached dully and the side of her head throbbed painfully as the vision in her left eye blurred slightly. _Ah, great, _she growled, _migraines. Excellent. Just excellent._

The older man beamed at her teasingly, his rocky features drawing together as he grinned down at her. "Shut up." Sadie scowled humorously, still drawing deep gulps of air into her lungs and massaging small circles into her temples to minimize the pain that was pounding through her skull. Sadie took another deep breath and cursed as she remembered the muted ache in her ribs. She slumped down with her spine curved forwards and her head resting lightly on her kneecaps.

"Aha, whatever, sweetie," He turned from where he was hunched over at the door, large fingers grappling uselessly at the brass doorknob. Ben's rocky brows drew together as he saw the sallow tint to her freckled skin, the purple bags under her eyes and the worn, lost look in her eyes.

"Sadie?" Ben asked as he inched towards the twenty-three year old carefully as she took a deep, shuddering breath and winced, arms wrapping tightly around her ribcage as she inhaled more air quickly.

"I'm f-fine," she choked out, stuttering as she reassured him hastily. He gazed at her dubiously and reached out an arm to help her up as she clutched feebly at the railing, trying to haul herself to her feet only to roll her ankle and collapse on it.

"Ah, shit," she grimaced, extracting her ankle out from underneath her and swiveling her foot carefully, biting down on her lower lip as she rotated it to a particularly painful spot. The blurred spots in her vision grew larger.

Ben's arm swooped around, supporting her as she gave him a weak smile which was twisted with pain so it looked more like a tight grimace. Her knees caved in and she fell forwards, her head smacking against the cold concrete of the stairs.

…

Even though her eyes were closed, Sadie's mind was fully alert, her senses absorbing things her eyes couldn't. She could feel the linen brushing over her skin, what sounded like an air conditioner running in the background and the even breathing of someone next to her, their warm fingertips casually trailing over the back of her hand in slow circular patterns. She knew who it was before she opened her eyes, the heat radiating from their body so familiar to her cool skin.

"_Johnny?" _she muttered tiredly, a hand coming up to rub at her eyes. "What're you doing here?"

"You know," he began amusedly, "the first words coming out of a girl's mouth – had they woken up to find me sitting by their sickbed – would be more along the lines of _'hey, hotstuff_" he mimicked in a horrible falsetto.

She shrugged from where she was on the bed, "But am I most girls?"

He shook his head, his eyes skipping around her face curiously, "You know, I'm still trying to figure you out, Sadie Faye." He laughed shortly before reclining back in the chair and kicking his legs up in a relaxed fashion.

"Ew, gross, Johnny," The dark haired girl wrinkled her small nose, making the spray of freckles dotted across it bunch up. "Get your smelly feet out of my face." He laughed again, complying good-naturedly. She propped herself up on her elbows as she faced him, "So, what did I miss?"

"Well," Johnny began, leaning forwards on his knees with a mischievous twinkle in his blue eyes, "Everyone's favorite rich guy stopped by for a visit and Reed wants to conduct some experiments or something," he shrugged carelessly, "I don't really know, I mean, I wasn't really listening."

Sadie punched his arm weakly, "That stuff's important, you know. And it concerns _you_." She emphasized the word by poking his upper arm firmly, eyes glaring sternly into his. He rubbed at his arm.

"Jeez, Mom," he mumbled under his breath before continuing, "He's already tested everyone but you."

She nodded before kicking the covers off her legs and swinging them out and over the bed frame before hoisting herself up into a standing position. Sadie looked back at Johnny who was still sitting down, "You coming or what?"

He broke his gaze and muttered, "Yeah," awkwardly as she held the door open for the two of them. He arched his brows, "Shouldn't I be holding the door open for you? After all, you're the girl."

She pulled a face as she followed him, "Oh, yeah? Well, I'm glad you noticed and anyways," she continued with a roll of her eyes, "I'm capable of holding the door open for myself. I'm not some _damsel in distress _that has to be carried everywhere."

He snorted, "Oh, really? You've passed out on us twice now, so I wouldn't be talking." Johnny pointed out bluntly, encouraged by the spark of irritation flashing in her gray eyes. She huffed and quickened her strides, overtaking him as he hurried to catch up with her, his longer legs matching her pace easily.

"Not my fault." She protested, arms crossing over her chest tightly. He raised his eyebrows questioningly and she growled and stalked past him, "You're insufferable,"

"Love you too, honey!" he called after her, a smirk tugging at his lips as he chuckled. It was fun irritating Sadie, he found it entertaining, the way she would growl and storm off. It was irritating though, how she was able to match him in snappy comebacks; the girls he usually talked to just smiled and gave a high-pitched giggle, dumbly agreeing with whatever he said. He watched her saunter off barefoot, her feet padding softly against the floor as her eyes eagerly drank in the abundance of shiny new equipment.

He chuckled dryly, shaking his head. Something about this girl really threw him off balance, tipped him off kilter and left his emotions in overdrive, both good and not-so-good. She aggravated him, confused him and made his head spin in dizzying circles. And he didn't like it. She refused to succumb to his attention, snapping back with a biting retort that left him wordless. Sadie thought she had him all figured out, and for the most part, she did.

After all, he was Johnny Storm, another one of those attention-seeking players with a different hot girl each week, each one as fake and desperate as the last. He could tell how much he annoyed her, but some part of him suspected, even hoped, that maybe a small part of her felt as emotionally confused as he did.

**A/N: Aha, I love writing Johnny/Sadie banter. So much fun. :) **

**I'll update as soon as I finish with Chapter 6 – I'm nearly there. **

**The next few chapters are going to be Johnny and Sadie kind of… well, I suppose learning to get along. Review, please! I love reading them!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey everyone. I'm sorry about the late update :( **

…

"So," Reed said, peering over a pair of wire-rimmed glasses at her, "your condition is not that unlike Ben's."

Suddenly Sadie's throat went dry and she swallowed heavily, her teeth locking together worriedly, "Does that mean I'm going to turn into a rock?" To her surprise, Reed laughed as he looked down at the x-ray printouts resting on his lap.

"No, not at all," the humor had faded from his tone as he held a photo up to the light, squinting his eyes against the sunlight. "I was saying, your whole internal structure has been slowly evolving over time." She shrugged, "How?"

"Remember the blood sample we took from you? Well, Sue and I analyzed that and found something odd in your now genetically modified cells, here, take a look," she pried the picture from his grasp.

"Reed," she laughed dryly. "I'm an astrophysicist, not a biochemist, not a biogeneticist. This is all Greek to me."

Reed looked uncomfortable for a second as he realized, "So, you've studied basic biology, right?" He waited until she nodded in confirmation, "Okay, the human body is two thirds water, around sixty-seven percent," he approximated roughly, "your body water percentage is significantly larger than the average human's, around eighty-nine percent."

Sadie questioned skeptically, "Is that bad?"

"Well, it depends what you consider as bad." Reed corrected her, shuffling the stack of photos and sliding another off the top, "Look at this one," he traced his index finger across the image of her ribs, "we looked at your lungs, Ben said you'd been experiencing pain in your chest. It turns out that your lungs have been so modified that your body doesn't only require oxygen. Your lungs can process water and store the hydrogen and oxygen molecules in your blood, sending them to your muscles and your tissues.

"We saw how you dived into the East River, which is sixty-five to seventy-eight feet deep. Sue and I have a theory that your bone structure, specifically your axial skeleton, has been reinforced so it can withstand great pressure. And, we also think, based on Sue's observations, that maybe some of the cosmic storm has influenced your brain, connecting you to the water.

"As you already know, your powers are specifically water-based. We'd like to test pressure, absorption levels and temperature control, that is, if you don't mind," he added, raising his glasses so they perched in his dark hair.

She nodded again, chewing on the inside of her cheek nervously. Sadie swallowed her nervousness as she watched Reed rise from where he was sitting and direct her towards the glass door. She slid soundlessly across the floor, Reed close behind her. The two entered the main room of the apartment, Sadie's gaze immediately going to the massive tank in the middle of the room. She could sense hundreds of gallons of water sloshing around inside, smacking against the walls, the glass reflecting a slightly distorted version of her figure.

"Am I going in there?" She asked, turning up to glance at Reed who nodded distractedly, gazing wistfully at Sue standing up on the elevated pathway, her fingers tapping at a touch screen, pinching three of her fingers together and sending the image to another screen opposite her.

"Reed?" She asked again as he jolted back from his daydream and spun around to face her.

From where she was standing, she could see Johnny who was standing up with Sue, raise his eyebrows and snort disapprovingly, "Uh, yeah." He sorted through the heap of items in his hands before producing a small remote.

"The isolation tank is fitted with waterproof cameras to record our observations, you can just go in your clothes, it doesn't matter too much," Reed said as he gestured to her clothes. She tugged at her plain, white shirt, fiddling with the hem.

She squared her shoulders before climbing the staircase, the steel floor freezing her bare feet. She ignored Johnny clapping a hand on her back, "Hey, sweetcheeks." He said easily, patting her back again. She shrugged his hand off coldly as she faced Sue.

"So, what do I do now?" She asked the blonde.

"Oh, you're just going to step into the tank," she answered, pointing her pen in the direction of the tank. She glanced over at the massive glass tank of water, not feeling as afraid as she ought to have.

She ignored Johnny as she stalked past him, tucked her hands tightly to her sides and made a quick pencil jump into the water. It wasn't as cold as she thought that it would have been, she observed as she sunk into the blue depths, suspended as she floated around.

She could see vague shapes of Johnny and Sue, their white coats standing out as she pushed her hair away from her face. _"Sadie?" _Sue's voice asked. She cocked her head to the side attentively. The sound was dully muted, like a speaker with a blanket thrown over the top.

Bubbles trailed from her parted lips, drifting up to the surface as she breathed deeply. Her dark hair stood out in the pale blue of the water and she saw a reflection of her pallid face in the glass. _"C'mon, Sadie. Do something exciting." _Johnny whined persistently as she glared, gray eyes locking on him.

_"You should have seen how impressive I was, I reached four thousand Kelvin!" _He continued, oblivious to the fact that she was getting more irritated by the second, and took a slow sip of the water glass in his hand.

Her fists clenched and suddenly, the water glass in his hand exploded, the liquid drenching him from head to toe. He scowled at her, steam rising off his wet body in white coils. Sue turned and gasped.

Small cracks were running up the sides of the glass, splintering like spider webs. Another fissure cracked as her knuckles whitened and as she closed her eyes, the tank exploded, glass raining down in a deadly waterfall. Sue braced herself to create a shield that would shelter the four from the oncoming wave but stopped as she saw Sadie throw her arms out, stopping the water at the last minute.

Sadie closed her eyes tightly, her arms thrust out as she slowly absorbed the water, drawing it back to her body. Sue watched eagerly as the water twined itself around her limbs and torso like tight vines. When it touched Sadie's skin, it coated her like a skin-tight suit, clinging to her tightly.

Her head tipped back as the water streamed over her face and her eyes closed as the water stained her hair a dark blue, the sapphire color bleeding through her brown hair. It slowly sunk into her body, the smooth flesh color of her skin slowly fading into transparent blue. The watery girl looked back up and pulled herself into a standing position, gasping as she saw the extent of the change. She was made up of pure water, her once gray eyes now a pale, icy blue and her hair streaming out behind her, disregarding the laws of gravity completely.

"_Wow." _Sue murmured under her breath as she walked around the girl, eyes raking over her watery form. She noticed that her shorts and t-shirt were still on and hadn't been absorbed by the water. She frowned slightly. Why was that?

Johnny laughed, jogging down the stairs to her. "_Co-ool!" _He exclaimed as Sadie looked at him blankly with her icy blue eyes. He took a cautious step back as her gaze locked on him and her lips twisted into a smirk. A sudden blast of icy cold water smacked him in the face as the floating girl snickered. Ben joined in, his deep chuckles rumbling through the room.

_Okay, _he thought as he burst into flame, feeling a small twinge of annoyance as his shirt and jeans burnt to a crisp. _Second one today, _he mused internally. He sent a small blast of flame directed at her face. She flicked her fingers, a small spray of water erupting from them and dousing the flame. She smirked again and Johnny scowled.

_Damn. _

Sadie turned to see Reed scribbling furiously on one of his lab notebooks and raised an eyebrow, _let's see what we can do, eh? _She concentrated again, focusing on the water molecules that made up her body, imagining them solidifying into ice in a protective shield of armor around her body. She opened her eyes, gazing at the icy gloves coating the bare flesh of her forearms and on her legs.

She threw her arms out again, the ice flying off her body in shards. The four watched as they turned to water in midair and promptly soaked Johnny who rolled his eyes, sighing as the flames on his body evaporated the water.

Sadie laughed quietly as she dropped back to the floor, landing carefully on her two feet. Maybe getting superpowers wasn't so bad after all.

…

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